Minister for Home Affairs Pio Tikoduadua says non-traditional security challenges have come to the forefront of Fiji’s security discourse, posing unprecedented threats and risk to national security.
Tikoduadua said these non-traditional challenges are climate change, democratization, concerns about environmental safety and increasingly fragile food security, transnational organised crimes and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the Integrated Border Management and Automation of Fiji’s Passenger Arrival Card Consultations with the Japanese Digital Agency, Tikoduadua said this has challenged the Government, given the dramatic evolution of this complex global security which has substantial implications in Fiji and the region as well.
“The economic fallout from the pandemic crippled even the most resilient market economies in the world, and in Fiji the service industry was hit the hardest, specifically tourism.”
“Due to the impact on Fiji’s service industry and noting the importance of tourism contribution of up to 24 per cent of Fiji’s GDP, it is pertinent to urgently upgrade Fiji’s system and processes to facilitate safe travel protocols at all ports of entry along with digital transformation through the automation of Fiji’s Passenger Arrival Card and other scalable protocols responding to variety of issues,” the Minister added.
